Box strapping tool



July 9, 1935. J. H. WEBSTER 2,007,781

BOX STRAPPING TOOL Filed June 21, 1935 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Jalm Ham/d I/l'bsk'r July 9,- 1935. J. WEBSTER 2,007,781

BOX STRAPPING TOOL Filed June 21, 1933 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 O I Jbhn Hafob Websier July 9, 1935. J, H. WEBSTER BOX STRAPPING TOOL Filed June 21, 1935 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 July 9, 1935. J. H. WEBSTER BOX STRAPPING TOOL Fil'ed June 21, 1933 w 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 (him Hat old Websier Patented .July 9, 1935 UN TED {STATES- PATENT OF'Fl CiE e n w z Y I B101; STRAPPING TOOL; r 7

John Harold Webster, Newington, Con'ni, assi'gnor.

to The Stanley Wrks,,New Britain, some, a g I corporation of Connecticut 7 l I. 1. Application .mn'zi, 1933,- Serial; No. stereo voi i s; (o1. 81- -91) This invention relates to a tool or machine by means of which bands or strips of metal or the like: may he, applied to boxes, packages, et .cetera.

fIhe 'aim of the inventionisio provide a very :1 simple, compact, durable and sturdy machine wh ch is easy tooperateandby means of which straps maybe tightened, sealed and-cut with the greatest facility. r

My improved machine has Various features of several levers'or handles with which the tool is provided are conveniently p1aced,-are readily operable, and do not interfere with one another in their operations, v

Other objects, will be inpart obvious, and in part pointed out more in detail hereinafter.

. The invention accordingly consists in the fea tures of construction, combination of elements and arrangement of parts which will be exema plified in the construction hereinafter set forth and the scope of: the application of which will be indicated in the appended claims. r

In the accompanying drawings wherein isshown, for illustrative purposes, oneembodiment which the present invention may take, 7 Fig. 1 is a perspective View of my improved tool;

Fig. 2 is a cred orfo-perative position;

Fig. 3 is atop plan View of the structure iwith parts in section;

Fig. 4' is a View taken generally longitudinally emeand vertically through the tool; I J

i Fig; 5 is a transverse sectional View through. the

stretching or "tightening mechanism; this view being taken substantially on line. 5-510ff Fig. 4-; r

: ing theeccentric shaftto thereby raise and lower Fig. 6 is a front View of the machine; 1

mechanism, the same; being shown in operated condition;

Fig. 8 is a ,top'view of the forward endof the and g be formed by the use of my mechanism.

Referring to the r drawings in detail, A-denotes generally aframe whichhas a large foot plate 55;: ltiad'apted to rest: upon .a boxer similar member 'imum eifort on the part of the-operator; The] side View thereof with: the sealing mechanism shown by full lines in raised orwith g; drawn position and shown by dotted lines in; lowthan the friction disks, the several disks being Fig; '7 is. a-sectional viewtha'o-ughthesealing .tool, with the sealing lever operated position; i

to which the strapis tobe applied; a head or body portion having a pair of parallel sidewalls H and I2, a front wall 13 inclined upwardly and rearwardly, and a downwardly extending rearportion 14; and .a'heel plate I 5- on the downwardly extendingportion, and located'behind and in the plane of the footplate HI so as to also rest upon the box. The frame comprising the various portions described is preferably an integral casting. Theright-hand side wall H of the frame arises. from the foot-plate, the other side wall 12 of the front wall l3 being spaced above the foot plate in orderto permit the strap to be inserted edgewisefrom the left-hand side o-f the machine. :The. footplate It has on its upper surface and adja-v cent its forward end,.a pair of laterally spaced apart lugs to between which the strap is positioned so that it is properly aligned with the stretching and sealing instrumentalities. Behind these lugs, the foot plate has an opening 11 for. accommodatingthe sealing jaws, as hereinafter described morein detail The body portion of the,- frame is provided on its front wall l3 withfa, dovetailed way 18 upon which is slidably, mounted. a housing 3 which carriesthe sealing mecham- 7 Y I For the purpose of stretching astrapabout the. container; there is provided a friction plug 21 carried by the foot plate It and a cooperating tightening wheel C journalled in the head be tween the side wallsor cheeks H and it." This wheel, in the present illustrated disclosure, in cludestwo friction wheelsor disks 22 having their edges serrated, as is usual, and an interposedratchet disk 23 of slightlylesser diameter secured together by dowel pins 24. The tightening wheel is mounted upon the eccentric. portion 25 0f an eccentric shaft 26 the opposite ends of which are journalled in the respective cheeks or side-walls it andJZ. If desired, abushing 21 may be interposed between, the eccentric and the tightening wheel. 1 For the purpose; ofturnthe tightening wheel into and out of engagement with the overlapping strap ends which overpreferably at its: left-handend, with a crank handle; 28. The handle may be secured to the I I h r 7. end of the shaft by a screw 25!. For the purpose Fig. 9- is anview-of' a completeseal-which may of limiting the extent of movement of the crank handle, thehubqportion thereof is cut away so as top-rovide twoangularly spaced apart steps; 30 and 3! which are adapted to engage;v afpin t2. fixedto' the; head. When-the handle in the lie theplug; M, the eccentric shaft is provided,

position shown in Fig. 1, the shoulder 30 engages the stop or pin 32 and the wheel is elevated. When the handle is in the position shown in Fig. 2, the wheel is lowered into operative relation with the strap. For the purpose of rotating the friction wheel with a step by step motion, there is provided a rearwardly extending tightening handle 33 the forward end of which is forked so as to straddle the friction wheel. This handle is journalled on the bushing 21, as will be seen most clearly from Figs. 4 and 5. Pivoted on the handle, as at 34, is a tightening pawl 35 having on its free end a tooth 36 adapted to cooperate with the ratchet teeth of the ratchet disk 23. This pawl is normally urged into engagement with the ratchet disk by a spring 31. Located between the cheeks II and I2 and pivoted on a pin 38 is a holding pawl 39 having a tooth 4O cooperating with the teeth of the ratchet disk. This pawl is normally urged into engagement with the ratchet disk by a spring 4|. For the purpose of disengaging the tightening pawl 35 from the ratchet disk, this pawl may have a rearwardly extending tail piece 42 below which is the forward end of a release lever 43 pivoted, as at 44, to the tightening handle and having an operating stem 45 extending upwardly through an opening in the handle. The friction plug 2| is screwed into an opening in the foot plate ID as particularly illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5'so that the plug is vertically adjustable with respect to the friction wheel. For the purpose of holding the plug in adjusted position, the lower end thereof may be provided with cross slots 46 in which is adapted to selectively engage the rear end of a spring 41 located'in a groove 48 in the bottom surface of the foot plate. The forward end of the spring is anchored in place by a screw 49. These slots may also accommodate a tool such as a screw driver to adjust the plug when the spring 48 is removed from the slot.

Referring now to the sealing mechanism, the housing B ispreferably in the form of a casting or block having a cylindrical bore 50 extending down to a bottom wall 5|. The casting is slotted at each side so as to accommodate the sealing jaws 52 and toggle links 53. Extending rearwardly from the sides of the housing are webs 54, and these webs have opposed dovetailed grooves 55 for accommodating the way or rib l8. Mounted for reciprocation in the bore 50 is a generally cylindrical rack bar 56 having rack teeth 51 on its rear side. The lower end of the rack bar is transversely slotted so as to accommodate'the upper ends of the links53. These links are pivoted to the rack bar, as by means of pins 58. The links are pivotally connected to the upper ends of the sealing jaws 52 by pins 59. These jaws are pivoted between their ends on pins 60 carried by the housing B. Located between the jaws is a complementary sealing member or anvil 6|. This anvil, in the present instance, is secured, as by means of a screw 62, to the under side of the bottom wall 5|. The jawsand the anvil may be constructed and cor related so as to form a seal of any suitable type, they here being shown as being arranged to form a seal S, such as illustrated in Fig. 9.

receive the respective projections 63.

The housing B also carries a knife D for scoring the strap just forwardly of the seal so that, after the seal is formed, the strap may be bent back and forth a few times along the line on which it has been weakened thereby breaking the portion of the strap attached to the box from the roll from which the strap is taken. In the present instance, this knife has a head portion 10 located just forwardly of the anvil and a cylindrical stem portion H mounted for reciprocation in a cylindrical opening 12 in the bottom wall 5| of the housing. At the lower end, the knife has two spaced apart aligned knife edges 13 which are adapted to be forced partially through the strap. The rack bar carries an adjustable screw 14, the lower end of which is adapted to engage the top of the stem II as the sealing members are completing the seal. The knife is normally urged to a raised position by a spring 15, the forward end of which engages in an opening 16 adjacent the upper end of the stem H. The rear end of thespring is secured to the housing by a screw 11. v

For the purpose of sliding the housingB, together with the sealing and cutting instrumentalities carried thereby, into and out of operative position, and for operating these instrumentalities after they have been brought to operative position, a relatively long lever E is provided. This lever is preferably'an integral member having a pair of parallel spaced apart side arms and a grip portion 8| at the rear ends of the arms and connecting the same. The space in the lever E between the arms thereof is adapted to accommodate the stretcher operating handle 33. The forward ends of the arms straddle the housing B and the arms between their ends are adapted to straddle the rear portion 4 of the frame when the lever E is in the position shown in the drawings. The forward end of the lever E is connected to a shaft journaled in the housing B rearwardly of the rack 55. This shaft, in the present instance, includes a pair of bushings 82 respectively journalled in the webs 54 and held together by a threaded rod 83. About this rod and between the bushings is a segmental gear 84, the teeth of which are adapted to mesh with the teeth 51 of the rack bar. The inner ends of the bushings are provided with lugs 85 adapted to take into correspondingly shaped notches in the hub of the gear so that the bushings, the threaded rod or screw and the gear or pinion will turn in unison. The outer ends of the bushings have noncircular heads 86 engaging in grooves 8'! in the forward ends of the arms 8!! so that, when the lever is turned, the bushings and gear will turn therewith. The arms of the lever, just rearwardly of the forward ends thereof, have, on their opposed faces, inwardly extending lugs or fulcrums 88 adapted to engage on the upper edges of the side walls or cheeks H and i2 of the frame rearwardly of the front wall of the frame. In order to limit the extent of movement of the lever when it is thrown into the full operative position shown by dotted lines, Fig. 2, one of the lugs 88 is provided with an adjustable screw 89 adapted to engage the top of the housing. It may be found desirable to releasably hold the lever in the inoperated position shown in Figs. 1 and 3 and, to this end, there maybe provided in the rearwardly extending portion of the frame bullet catches comprising balls 90 between which is a spring 9|. The arms 80 are grooved, as at 82, so as to receive these balls. The housing B is normally urged towards operative position by a spring particularly illustrated in Fig. 5 having jaws. E, the teeth of the gear 84 mesh with the teeth 5? of the rack, whereupon the rack is moved down- 2,007,781 ing its central portion in theformlof' a coil'posi ti'oned about a hu-b 95 through which the shaft 26 extends. The rear end'of the spring is looped,

mally urged downwardly. The housing is'pre vented from being accidentally withdrawn -up-. wardly off of the waylfi, by the engagement of the forward end of the spring against the stop lug 99 The operation of the device is briefly as' fol-lows:

the seal S is threaded onto thee-trap or band X and the strap then passed about the package or thrown forwardly to the position shown in'Fig.

to thereby turn the eccentric Z5 and thus lower the friction wheel into engagement with theupper overlying strap portioni The handle 33 is now oscillated up and down to thereby turn the fric tion wheel in a direction to move the overlying strap portion with respect to the Lmderlying one, thus'stretching the strap about the box, It will be understood that, when the handle 33 is moved upwardly, the paws holds the friction wheel against rotation counterclockwise, referring to Fig. 4 and, when the handle is moved downwardly, the friction wheel is turned through the pawl 35 clockwise, that is, in a direction to exert a pull upon the strap. In the event the desired tension on the strap is obtained when the handle 33 is in raised position, the release lever 43 may be turned through the operating knob 55 to with draw the tightening pawl from the ratchet disk and then the handle may be lowered to the normal position shown in Fig. 4. In this position, the handle rests upon the edge i i of the frame'A. It will further be seen that, during the operation of the handle 33, the lever E is out of the way although these levers cross. The strap having now been tightened, and the sealshaving been properly positioned with respect to the opening I! in the foot plate, the lever is thrown forwardly from thefull line position to the broken line position shown in Fig. 2. During the initial swinging movement-of the lever E, it will fulcrum on the shoulders provided for by upper edges of the cheeks I i and I2, and the forward ends of the lever are lowered, with the result that the housingB will slide downwardly and forwardly on the way It from the withdrawnpositlon shown by full lines, Fig. 2, to the operative position shown by broken lines in that figure. The seal is now straddled by the lower ends of the seal" On continued movement of the lever wardly and, through the links 53, the sealing jaws are moved to the position shown in Fig.7 so as to form the seal. As the lever approaches the end of its operative stroke, that is, as the sealing operation is being completed, the screw it carried by the rack will engage the stem H of the knife,

upper overlapping strap portion forwardly of the. seal..- The knife makes two score marks orlines of weaknessiin the strap for the purpose'previously stated. The sealing and scoring operations'now having been completed, the lever is'swung back to" its normal position shown in Fig. 1, thereby first withdrawing the seeding jaws from the seal and then raising the housing B, together with the ins-trumeritalities' carried thereby. The crank handle 28 is then turned back to the'position shown in Fig. 1 so asto raise the frictionwheeL.

' During the operation of tightening the strap, the

operator may use one handto oscillate thelever 33, and withthe'other hand he may grip the handle ZBso as to hold the device steady. During such time the lever is in closed relation to the handle hii, the rear'end of the lever being below and out of the way of the rear-or freeend of the handle The longitudinal slot or opening in the lever'E'is of such length that when this lever is moved to and from the position shown in Fig. I, it will clear the handle During the operative stroke of the lever E, and particularly while forming th'e sealing'operation, the operatormay grip and bear down'on the handle 33 so asto hold the tool steady, the other hand being used to operat'e the lever E. h i Y As many'changes could be made in the above constructioniand'many apparently widely different embodiments of this invention could be made without departing from the scope thereof, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpretedas illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

It is also to be understood that the languageused inthe following-claims is intended to coverall of the genericand specificfeatures of the invention herein described and all statements of the scope of the invention which, as a matter of language, might be said to fall therebetween.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a box'strapping tool, a frame, means carried by said frame for tightening the strap and including a rearwardly extending oscillatory handle; and sealing means including a housing supported by said frame forwardly of said tightening means for movement into and out of operative position, sealing members movably carried by said housing, and a lever for moving said housing into and out of'operative position and for operating said sealing members; said lever beinglongitudinally slotted so as to accommodate said handle, said lever being swingable in the plane of oscillation of said handle'and having an inoperative position in which it is rearwardly eX- tending and in crossed relation with said handle.

2. In a box strappin tool, a frame having an upwardly and rearwardly inclined slideway at its forward end, means carried by said frame rearwardly of said slideway for tightening the strap and including an oscillatory handle; and sealing means including a housing slidably mounted on saidslideway for movement into and out of operative position, sealing members movably carried bysaid housing,'and a lever pivoted to said housing for moving said housing into and out of operative'position and for operating said sealing members, interengaging means between said lever andframe whereby said lever. is fulcrumed rearwardly of its pivotal connection with said housing, said lever being swingable from a rearwardly extending position to aforwarly extending position, said handle and lever being in thereby forcing. the edges of the'knife. against the;

crossed relation when the latter is in its rearwardly extending position;

3. In a box strapping tool, a frame'having an upwardly and rearwardly extending slideway at its forward end, strap tightening means carried by said frame rearwardly of said slideway and including a friction wheel and an oscillatory han dle for rotating the friction wheel with a step by step movement; and sealing means including a housing slidably mounted on said slideway, sealing jaws movably carried by said housing, a lever pivoted to said housing, an operative connection between said lever and sealing jaws, and means on said lever adapted to rest upon said frame rearwardly of said slideway whereby said lever is fulcrumed on the frame during the operation of lowering the housing to operative position; said lever being swingable in the plane of oscillation of said handle from a rearwardly extending position to a forwardly extending position, said lever having a slot for accommodating said handle and being in crossed relation to said handle when the lever is in rearwardly extending position.

4. In a box strapping tool, a frame having an upwardly and rearwardly inclined slideway and shoulders rearwardly of said slideway, a housing mounted for sliding movement on said slideway and spring biased in one direction, sealing members movably carried by said housing, a lever pivoted to said housing, an operative connection between said lever and said housing and an operative connection between said lever and sealing members, said lever being arranged to fulcrum upon said shoulder during movement of said housing.

5. In a box strapping tool, a frame having an upwardly and rearwardly inclined slideway and shoulders rearwardly of the slideway, a housing slidably mounted in the slideway spring biased in one direction, jaw members movably carried by the housing, a rack carried by the housing and operatively connected to said jaw members, a shaft pivoted on the housing, a segmental gear on the shaft and adapted to mesh with said rack, and a lever fixed to said shaft, said lever member being arranged to fulcrum on said shoulders to move said housing against the tension of said spring.

6. In a box strapping tool, a housing mounted for sliding movement into and out of operative position, jaw members movably carried by said housing, a knife member movably carried by said housing, a rack bar slidably carried by said housing and operatively connected to said jaw members, means carried by said rack bar and adapted to operate said knife to score the strap at the completion of the sealing operation, and a lever operatively connected to said rack bar for moving the same.

7. In a box strapping tool, a frame having a forwardly and rearwardly inclined slideway and shoulders rearwardly of the slideway, a housing slidably mounted in said slideway, jaw members movably carried by said housing, a rack slidably carried by said housing and operatively connected to said jaw members, a shaft journaled in said housing, a segmental gear on said shaft and adapted to mesh with said rack, and a lever fixed at its forward end to said shaft and having means rearwardly of the forward end adapted to rest upon said shoulders whereby said lever is fulcrumed on the frame during the operation of lowering the housing to operative position, said segmental gear being engaged with said rack after said lever has been swung to such an extent as to lower said housing to operative position.

JOHN HAROLD WEBSTER- 

